We want him to stay at the club and that’s what we’ll be fighting to do

Steve Kean

Chris Samba wants to quit Ewood Park but furious Rovers bosses have blocked his attempts to find a new club and say they are determined to keep him.

It has led to a stand-off that shows no signs of being resolved before the January transfer window closes.

Samba met Steve Kean yesterday which led to a frank exchange of views.

Starsport understands Rovers offered to sell Samba in the summer in return for him staying put this season to help Kean’s men avoid relegation from the Premier League.

But Samba refused and reiterated his desire to leave immediately, prompting Kean’s threat to leave him out until he changes his mind.

Samba is a target of Paris St Germain, Tottenham and QPR, who tabled a £6m bid last week but had it rejected out of hand.

The Congo star is holding out for a switch to PSG, but fears Rovers are pricing him out of a move.

Rovers value him in the £14m bracket and Kean said: “We want to keep Chris. Obviously we know there’s bids out there for him, but it’s a mark of what we’re trying to do that we’ve refused the bids and that’s where we are.

“We’ve only had two bids from one club. Chris is under contract and we’ve been in dialogue with him.

“We want him to stay at the club and that’s what we’ll be fighting to do.” Meanwhile, the club’s Indian owners Venky’s have drafted in Brazilian fixer Joao Souza to land new signings before the end of the month.

Players on his list of targets are thought to include Bordeaux striker Anthony Modeste and Paraguayan international midfielder Victor Caceres.